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MARIELSA BERNARD was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in the Silver Spring and Rockville areas of Maryland. She graduated in 1973 from Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland. She earned a B.A. in Political Science/English from Loyola College in 1977, and graduated from the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America, in 1980.

Her legal career began in 1978 as a Law Clerk in the Law Firm of Ferretti, Ehrlich & Gordon, where, upon passing the Bar, she became an associate. From 1984 to 1986, she was an associate with Tietz & Ferretti; and from 1986 to 1987, she was an associate with the Law Offices of Vincent E. Ferretti, Jr. From 1987 to January 1997 she was a solo practitioner in Silver Spring. From 1997 to 1998, she was a partner in the law firm of Keiffer, Johnston, Reinstein, Bernard & Heffron, L.L.C. While in private practice, she also served as a Criminal Justice Act misdemeanor panel attorney for the U.S. District Court and as a CINA panel member for the Montgomery County Public Defender's Office. She received the highest possible rating of "AV" from the Martindale Hubbell Law Directory.

In September 1998, Maryland Governor Parris N. Glendening appointed her to the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County, District 6. In March 2002, Governor Glendening elevated her to the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. She is the first Hispanic to serve in the Montgomery County Judiciary. Since joining the Bench, she has presided over criminal misdemeanors, felonies, traffic cases, civil cases, domestic violence cases, juvenile and family matters.

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AND INVOLVEMENT:

1999-Present, Appointed by Chief Judge Robert M. Bell, Maryland Court of Appeals, to the Improving Public Trust and Confidence in the Judicial System Implementation Committee, MD Judicial Conference. As a member of this Committee, Judge Bernard has initiated and developed a series of Public Forums, which have focused on domestic violence, criminal justice, and other issues of interest to the general public. Over 500 members of the community have attended these educational presentations, which have included court interpreters for non-English speaking participants and informational displays by service groups and organizations.

2002-Present, Appointed by Chief Judge Robert M. Bell to the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Judicial System, MD Judicial Conference; 2000, Member of the Business and Technology Division Task Force, MD Judicial Conference.

2001-Present, Chair, National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) Storybook Project at Jessup Institute for Women. Judge Bernard started this project that assists incarcerated women to read and record storybook stories for their children. The storybook, tape and tape players are sent to the inmates' children to maintain the bond between mother and child.

2000-2002, NAWJ Board of Directors, MD Chapter.

2002-Present, Co-Chair of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) Leadership Academy. The Leadership Academy is a year long program which focuses on developing and enhancing leadership skills in young lawyers.

2000-Present, Member, MSBA Committee on Local and Specialty Bar Liaison; 1995-1998, Chair, MSBA Special Committee on Hispanic/Latino Lawyers, Member 1998 to present. As Chair she initiated and organized open houses of the Montgomery County District Court, holding informational programs on such subjects as domestic violence, juvenile law and others of interest to the community. Participation in various other MSBA Committees 1990 to present.

1993-Present, Founding Member and Board of Directors, Maryland Hispanic Bar Association (MHBA); 1994-1995, President, MHBA. As President, she developed and organized a series of pro bono law and community service informational fairs, which won the MSBA Pro Bono Resource Center Award as well as the MSBA Best Service to the Public Award.

1997-2000, Take Your Daughter to Work Day Program, Montgomery County Women's Bar Association - As an attorney, Judge Bernard initiated this Annual Program which features a diverse panel of woman speakers outlining what it took for each of them to achieve success in life. High risk girls are sponsored by the attendees, and the Program hopes to inspire the girls to stay in school and persevere. She also initiated the Latina Empowerment Conference, which since its beginning in 1997, has regularly had over 300 girls attend different educational seminars on living in two cultures, college opportunities, and other topics of interest to high school girls.

2003, Leadership in the Law Award from the Daily Record; 2003, Named one of the Daily Record's Top 100 Maryland Women; 2003, Recipient of the Alpha Award from the Montgomery County Women's Fair; 2002, Honored as one of the 30 most influential women in the history of Montgomery County, Montgomery County Commission for Women; 1999, Elected Fellow of the Montgomery County Bar Foundation; 1998 and 1983, Montgomery County Executive Citation for Outstanding Community Service; 1998, Award for Dedicated Leadership, Hispanic Alliance; 1998, Elected Fellow of the Maryland State Bar Foundation; 1995, Award for Public Service to the Community, Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association; 1994, Governor's Citation, Governor's Commission on Hispanic Affairs; 1997, Award for Outstanding Contributions to Montgomery County, Montgomery County Public Schools.

2000-2002, Executive Committee, Montgomery County Bar Association.

COMMUNITY SERVICE:

Judge Bernard has dedicated her career to public service. While in law practice, she served as a court-appointed mediator for Spanish-speaking litigants, as well as a guardian ad litem for children in custody disputes. She did extensive pro bono work for the Spanish Catholic Center, the East Takoma Park Silver Spring Community Clinic, and St. Camillus Parish.

Community Activities include Member of the Hispanic Alliance, 1992-98, Vice-President 1995-97; Member, Hispanic/Latino Advisory Group to the Montgomery County Executive, 1994-1998; Member, East Montgomery County Advisory Group, 1994-1996; Member, Greater Silver Spring Committee, 1994-95; Volunteer Teacher, The Great Books Program, St. John the Baptist, 1989-1991; 1986-Present, Speaking engagements on different topics of the law, including presentations at diverse locations such as the Montgomery County Commission for Women, Montgomery College Latino Business Support Program, the Spanish Catholic Center, and high schools in Montgomery County.